Poker News Roundup: NBC Sports, 888poker, Roberto Damelian

It was a busy week of news in the poker world headlined by a couple of key partnership announcements from Poker Central. That’s where we’ll start our weekly roundup of the news:

NBC Sports Group Expands Relationship With Poker Central

NBC Sports Group and Poker Central have announced that they’ve extended their relationship through 2020 and will be expanding their partnership. Last year, NBC Sports Network broadcast the 2017 Super High Roller Bowl and the 2017 Poker Masters. This year, the expansion will include digital content – likely digital broadcasts – of the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl, the U.S. Poker Open and the Poker Masters.

It’s not fully clear yet what events will be broadcast on which platform but there will, of course, still be broadcasts on NBCSN and there will be digital streams on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Fans will be able to tune in starting this week as the 2018 U.S. Poker Open gets underway at the Aria Resort & Casino.

888poker Renews Deal With Poker Central

Poker Central announced another successful partnership this week, striking a deal with 888poker. 888poker will be a sponsor for the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl and will host a number of Poker Central’s key events throughout 2018 and 2019. As part of the agreement, 888poker will be the exclusive in-show sponsor for the real money online poker category for Poker Central and will be the chief sponsor for the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl. They’ll also get prominent placement in other prestigious events like Poker After Dark, the Poker Masters and the U.S. Poker Open.

This is the third consecutive year that 888poker and Poker Central will be partnering.

Damelian wins Aussie Millions Event No. 14

If you think you’re earning a solid hourly rate, it probably doesn’t come close to what Roberto Damelian reeled in at the 14th event of the 2018 Aussie Millions. Damelian ended up winning the event in 6.5 hours, taking home $52,446 for his time. That breaks down to a cool $8,741 per hour.

The win proved to be the fastest one of the 2018 Aussie Millions as 263 players entered to get their share of the $269,575 prize pool. Damelian cut through the field fairly quickly. Nathan Manuel finished in second place, taking home $33,871, while Hussein Hassan placed third and collected $21,850. The hometown crowd had plenty to cheer for as five of the top seven players at the event were from Australia. The other two were Americans.

The event was a resounding success as there were only 102 entrants in this same tournament last year. The event moves quickly with a theme of 10’s. Players started with 10,000 chips apiece and blind levels were bumped up every 10 minutes. On top of that, players had to make decisions quickly as there was a 10-second shot clock before their hand was deemed dead.

In total, 27 players finished in the money with the top 10 players earning $4,369 or more.